Farm dinners are a chance for collaboration and thinking outside of the box. They are a space for me to connect with a chef, his menu, and local farmers to create plates that I normally would never think about. This is one of those dishes.
Cacio e Pepe means cheese and pepper in Italian. We took beautiful Delvin Farms sweet potatoes and brined them slightly in salt water before fire roasting and serving them rustically broken with the crispy skin still attached. We paired them with Parmesan flakes and skhug to recreate the iconic Italian dish.
Skhug is one of my go-to sauces and is made with a ton of jalapeño peppers. Hence the peppers and cheese. I fell in love with this dish. Drizzle some local honey over the top and you have a side dish that is sure to be a hit at any meal. Brining brings some of those sugars in the sweet potato to the forefront and allows for a nice crispy skin by leaching some of the water and starch that is prevalent in potatoes. It’s not a necessary step but really aids in the texture and flavor if serving this dish skin on.
1. To prepare brine, stir salt into water until dissolved.
2. Add potatoes and let sit 2-4 hours.
3. Dry potatoes with a cloth and cook over live fire or bake at 450F until skin is crispy and potato is tender enough to break with hands, about 40-50 minutes. Let cool a bit.
4. Break each potato into three or four pieces, depending on size. Place in serving bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dollop skhug generously over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan and drizzle with honey.
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